Jakarta. It seems that critically acclaimed actor Russell Crowe is not enough to save the freshly released supernatural horror “The Exorcism” from the horrors of being a poorly executed work.

Directed by Joshua John Miller, “The Exorcism” is now out for cinema release in Indonesia -- a country in which horror is among the more popular genres. Having Crowe on the cast has made me have quite high expectations for “The Exorcism”. I also thought the idea of the story mainly taking place in a filming set was quite refreshing for a possession movie. But after having seen “The Exorcism”, I realize I should not have had high hopes. 

“The Exorcism” follows the story of troubled actor Anthony Miller (Crowe) starring as a priest in a supernatural horror film. Miller’s daughter Lee (Ryan Simpkins) who is on a school suspension becomes his personal assistant during the shoot. Both are trying to cope with her mother’s death. But as the filming goes on, Miller’s mental state deteriorates. Lee starts to wonder if Miller’s strange behavior is because he is back to his former addictions or if it is the work of a demon.

Like most horror movies, “The Exorcism” heavily relies on jumpscares. Yes, I almost fell off my seat and got startled a number of times, but jumpscares are not enough to make a horror great. “The Exorcism” mainly takes place in the movie set, but sometimes I got confused if the scene was still taking place on set or Miller’s home. 

There were also random head-scratchers popping inside my head as I watched the one-hour-and-a-half film. The production team decides to replace Miller with another actor Joe (Sam Worthington) after a bad possession episode. Even so, both Lee and Miller appear to be able to walk freely into the movie set. However, in Lee’s case, it could be because she is close with Blake (Chloe Bailey) -- the actress who plays the possessed girl. Sometime nearing the final exorcism, we see Father Conor (David Hyde Pierce) --an actual priest-- walk into what seems to be a chiller room, and I ask myself “why?”.  Perhaps I could have the answer to all these questions if I watched the movie a second time. But of course, it would be nice not to have these head-scratchers the first time.

Although as expected, Crowe made a stunning performance as Miller,  particularly at the climax of the movie.

“The Exorcism” portrays Miller as someone who questions his own faith. In the final battle, Father Conor gives himself up to the demon to save Miller and the girls. Miller then prays to get rid of the demon as he regains his faith. The movie ends with Miller overcoming his inner demons by making a confession at the church. These two scenes are my favorite acting performances by Crowe in “The Exorcism”. 

The other actors, however, are not as memorable -- although it does not mean they are doing a poor job. So it can be said that Crowe is really hard-carrying the acting department. As the movie ended, I asked myself: “Why did someone of Russell Crowe’s caliber willingly play in this fairly disappointing film?”